Well, yes, it is just a week out of a suburban mom's life. She gets a cast at the beginning and clumps about through the story. Nothing too gory or gripping, yet the pace is quick, witty and realistic. Just an imaginative woman wondering about a mystery then a death and building theories with her guy-friend, the police investigator.I kept wondering how Jane could afford to live, as she obviously did not have a job and spent all her time with her neighbor and best friend. Finally I found out on page 175 that she was widowed and a few pages later that she received a healthy income from the dead husband's family business.The gardening tours were fun. What I found most interesting were the cast of nutty characters - how did the author create them? They were so detailed and life-like, and yet so unlikeable! And the descriptions of the gardens reflected much of the owners' personalities, which was a dead-on observation, very depressing in a way. All very likely suspicious characters but without motive.Finally, the culprit is identified, and he happens to have genuine kind feelings in him. Yet it is his obsession about his dead wife which has driven him to unnatural actions. I liked the way the author managed to give the characters multi-dimensional aspects and expound on that fact in several places. Jane muses about what makes the people tick and what other unknown aspects they might have in their lives. Shelly takes time to talk to Kipsy, a freakish looking young woman, asking her about her motivation for her looks.Interesting vignette about the vagaries of human nature. The author's writing style is short, breezy and a little tongue-in-cheek (having young adults in the house is a good mix to stay real!). It is well done for its particular niche. I enjoyed it! I am glad to have this style of everyday pedestrian mystery without a deranged serial killer and predator out to kidnap, torture and mutilate innocent victims.
What do You think about Mulch Ado About Nothing (2001)?
